Georges Davrou
Former Regional Director of French Customs, Former Chef de Cabinet to the WCO Secretary General

1999 – 2008 Promoted to level of Regional Director of the French Customs Organization. Seconded to the World Customs Organization as Chief of Staff to the Secretary-General.

The World Customs Organization (OMD) is a global structure comprising 173 member states, which was the objective of improving the efficiency of national customs organizations by means of improved communication and interchange, coordinated action against all types of cross-border crime, and reinforcing the security and integrity of logistic information channels.
The Secretary General is elected by the member states for 5 years, and the Chief of Staff is selected by him and is his closest associate.

The Chief of Staff’s responsibilities include :

Preparing the OMD strategic plan

Overseeing the implementation of the strategic plan by the OMD departments

Organising meetings of the various elements of the OMD management structure (committee of Customs Directors-General, general policy committee, finance committee, audit committee etc)

Arbitrating differences and conflicts through close contact with the Customs Directors-General

Ensuring smooth dissemination of information between the Secretary General and the OMD organization, and vice-versa

Informing, advising, and counselling the Secretary General

Preparing budgets and their maintenance

Undertaking frequent contact with the principal members of the OMD

Managing the public relations function for the organization

Recruiting suitable personnel for the Secretary-General’s office

1992 – 1998 Seconded to the Council for Customs Cooperation (CCD) with particular responsibility for all activities pertaining to the fight against international fraud.

Managing standards and common technologies for facilitating international information exchange

Harmonizing and standardizing customs anti-fraud techniques from more than 170 countries by means of having them adopted as OMD standard protocols

Developing and implementing an assessment and risk management policy, oriented towards emerging and underdeveloped nation states

Constructing and managing data bases to facilitate the interchange and analysis of information between customs organizations

Preparing protocols of agreement between the CCD and its major organizational counterparts

Setting up partnerships between Customs and the private sector, which have led to the BASC procedures and, more recently, the CTPACT concept in the fight against terrorism

1987 – 1991 Customs Attaché to the French Embassy in Washington DC, responsible for North America, Canada, + Mexico.

Participation in international customs investigations regarding the illegal trafficking of drugs and money-laundering

Representing the French Customs on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Chemical Action Task Force (CATF)

Participating in meetings of major international organisms (United Nations, OIPC Interpol etc)

Undertaking initial studies for French legislation against money-laundering